


you get me through it all

by lobotomutt



Category: RWBY
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2019-02-03 19:35:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12754788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lobotomutt/pseuds/lobotomutt
Summary: They were all subtle, tiny signs any other person would look over. Ruby couldn’t overlook these oddities. Weiss was her partner, and above that she was her (best) friend. Jumpiness, flinching, and excuses to stay away from people constantly weren’t things Weiss normally did.





	you get me through it all

**Author's Note:**

> vaguely vents abt my own anxiety via fictional characters oops

The first time Ruby caught Weiss unable to sleep she let slide. It ended in her on the floor laughing while the aforementioned Ice Queen and their groggy teammates scrambled to help assess the state of the fearless leader. Her fall off of her bunk made her interrogation fall short. She let the night slide and figured Weiss was just studying too much and it was keeping her up. A few months had passed since then.

This time, it started similarly enough. Weiss was tossing, turning, huffing and quietly complaining with each thrash. Ruby kept her sleep mask pulled down over her face and remained still as a statue, not wanting to let Weiss know she was awake and listening to her. There was something… _off_ with her partner.

Weiss was far from a _super duper social_ butterfly, but she also wasn’t a complete introvert like Blake. The heiress had been quiet as of late. She was pulling in on herself and pushing others away. Weiss was also, Ruby noticed, a lot jumpier. Sudden noises made her leap out of her skin and when a professor would talk in a voice just a bit above a shout Weiss would recoil slightly. She spent limited time in the dorm and instead busied herself with studying or research.

They were all subtle, tiny signs any other person would look over. Ruby couldn’t overlook these oddities. Weiss was her _partner_ , and above that she was her (best) friend. Jumpiness, flinching, and excuses to stay away from people constantly weren’t things Weiss normally did.

Ruby was dragged out of her thoughts when Weiss was suddenly creeping out of her bunk. She heard the heiress frantically fumble around and peeked her sleeping mask up just in time to see Weiss slide on a pair of slippers and rush out the dorm room without a word. The leader blinked once or twice, her brow creasing in worry. She followed in suit after her partner, landing on the ground with a soft thump.

A _wuff_ sounded from just beneath Weiss’s bunk and Zwei poked his head out. The corgi’s tongue lolled out and he tipped his head curiously at Ruby. The young huntress brought a finger to her lips and shushed her dog and snatched up her cape before gesturing to follow her out of the dorm. Zwei followed with another _wuff_.

—

It was nice to be alone.

Weiss made a mental note to thank Pyrrha for telling her about this quiet spot on the roof. The early-winter night air was chilly and Weiss could see her own breath puffing out in front of her. She was used to the cold. Atlas was far from warm. She drew in an intentionally deep breath, hoping the sting in her lungs would snap her out of this… state.

Her chest had felt compressed all day. It felt like there was a weight on her- like the world around her was trying to crush and squeeze all the breath out of her. Weiss ran her hands up and down her arms to try and warm herself just a bit as a shiver ripped through her, followed by a stuttering and clipped exhale. She brought one hand away from its place on her upper arm and furiously ground the heel of her hand into her eyes, drying her misty eyes.

Both hands started rubbing at her eyes as the hollowness in her chest seemed to double and she emitted a sharp, uncomfortable choking noise. She sniffled furiously and dug her nails into her forehead, her breathing growing more erratic as that constricting feeling in her chest and around her heart intensified.

Her next exhale escaped her in the form of a quiet sob. Her shoulders jerked upwards and the heiress slowly sunk to a sit, her face hidden away in her hands. She drew in a staggered breath and brought her knees close to her chest, looping her arms around her legs and burying her face in her knees. The pressure in her chest was steadily starting to unwind as long-suppressed emotions and tears finally sprang free after months and even _years_ of being forced into silence.

She was ready to let it all loose when she heard footsteps dash across concrete and a quiet bark.

The heiress had no time to retaliate before Ruby Rose, that insufferable brat she called her beloved friend and teammate, looped her arms around Weiss’s shoulders from behind and pressed her cheek against the icy girl’s.

“Weeeeiiiiissssss…” Ruby whined, her grip around the now stone-stiff girl tightening. “What’s wro—“

“ _Nothing_.” Weiss snapped, forcing her voice to sound sharp and nasty. “Nothing is wrong. Let go of me.” Her squirming and resistance against Ruby did nothing. She shivered again and blinked her eyes hard as the middle of her nose began to tingle with oncoming tears. She was _not_ going to have a meltdown in front of Ruby. She was fighting a losing battle.

“Last I checked, sitting on a roof in the freezing cold n’ trying to turn yourself into a ball isn’t ‘nothing.’” Ruby tried to make her voice sound motherly yet stern, like Yang and her mom did, but it fell short. Words were… words sucked. She had a hard time with them a lot of the time.

The leader kept her arms looped protectively around her partner and shuffled around until she was leaning against Weiss. Zwei took to the other side and pressed his nose under Weiss’s arm. Ruby fought back a smile as her partner’s muscles relaxed just slightly.

“You’ve been all jumpy for days now, Weiss.” Ruby said in a matter-of-factly tone of voice. Her silver eyes tried to meet her friend’s cold blue ones, a worried frown tugging at the corners of her mouth. She saw Weiss’s eyes squint again and her nose wrinkled as a tear or two rolled down her cheeks. Ruby hesitantly lifted a hand to set it atop Weiss’s clenched fists.

“What’s up..?” The brunette asked gently. She began to trace small circles on the back of Weiss’s hands. Mom, especially, mastered the art of the ever elusive _Back-Of-Hand-Circle-Technique_. Judging by the long breath Weiss let out, Ruby was on her way to mastering it as well.

“Everything.” The pale girl eventually said, slowly leaning in towards the red-haired girl next to her. She let one leg fall away from her chest and Zwei happily took his place on half of her lap. “Everything’s wrong, Ruby, and I can’t… _do_ anything about it.”

Her partner gave her a wordless nod, encouraging her bestie to continue.

“My father’s angry. Something happened with stocks and- of course, he’s letting it out on me.” The heiress began, her voice losing its icy and defensive edge and thawing into something more raw and even sad. “ _This_ isn’t perfect, a _Schnee_ wouldn’t have gotten a mark wrong on a question as simple as this, our entire _legacy_ lays on your shoulders.” She babbled, her nails digging into her own skin.

“Every day it’s- he has something new to get mad a-at _me_ for, and it’s—” Weiss swallowed thickly and sank into Ruby’s embrace as a strange, choked noise escaped her again. She drew in a breath to try and continue, but instead she blubbered and felt the floodgates that kept her emotions at bay fly open.

Weiss hadn’t noticed it, but Ruby had brought her cape along with her. The red cloak was pulled around her as the heiress openly sobbed and turned to lean against her friend. She was leaving dots of tears all over Ruby’s nightgown as she tried to regain herself enough to just talk. Crying wasn’t enough to ease the strain in her chest.

“Why is everything m-my— _my_ fault?” She peeped out, her body jolting with a hiccup. “He’s- he’s s-so quick to get mad at m-me. N-not Winter, not Whitley, but me. Every— any kind of… of… stock crash o-or problem he h-has to deal with is my fault.” Zwei was now huddled in her lap and Ruby was quietly humming in the back of her throat, holding the pale heiress close.

“Wh-why am I just some… some k-kind of _burden_ to him? To my family?” She drew in a sharp breath, “T-to our _tea—_ “

“Hey.”

There was a sudden sternness to Ruby’s voice as she cut off Weiss’s words. The leader brought up a hand and booped the teary-eyed girl on the tip of her nose. “You’re _not_ a burden.” Ruby insisted, “You can be bossy sometimes, and scary, but you’re not a burden, Weiss.”

“But—“

Ruby silenced her again with a poke to the lips. “If you weren’t bossy n’ scary n’ grumpy, you wouldn’t be Weiss. Team RWBY wouldn’t be team RWBY without you.” She lectured softly, nodding her head up and down. She let her words sink in for a moment and then awkwardly decided to try and help with the whole… vague… father situation.

“Your Dad’s dumb for saying you’re a burden. Or a mistake.” Ruby huffed, “He’s… dumb in general.”

Weiss let out a tired laugh and leaned against Ruby a bit more, clutching at the girl’s cape for some warmth. The heavy weight in her chest was slowly replaced with flutters and a soaring feeling in her chest. She laughed again.

“... I suppose he is dumb.” Weiss agreed quietly, tucking herself a bit closer to Ruby. She hesitated at first, but the leader eventually moved to rest her chin atop Weiss’s head. When there was no resistance from the shorter girl, Ruby allowed herself to relax.

“... Ruby?”

“Mhmm?”

There was a pause and a sniff.

“Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> i have  
> an entire army of whiterose fluff i have written so just say the word and i’ll bless y’all with it


End file.
